The Journey Back to You
by Atomsk-sama
Summary: AU. They were well known as the trio. Joined at the hip and the best of friends as kids. When one leaves, two began to drift apart. Middle school came and went. High school is almost over. Where are we going now?
1. Full Summary

**The Journey Back to You**

Authoress Note

Hi All! I took almost a three year hiatus from writing because college became very hard to deal with. Anyways, looking back on it now, I shudder at the stories I had thought were written well at the time. So, now that I have graduated college, I plan on taking up writing again. For my first fan fiction back, I decided would be Kingdom Hearts! I'm currently obsessed with the second game! Anyways, after this little beginner's note, I will post the prologue of this little piece of work!

I hope that all of you who read this will review! I'm not sure if this story will be any good since I'm a little rusty. I accept constructive criticism but no flames! If there is something you would like to see with the characters please tell me! I'll see if I can work it into my story line as I go on! With that said, I hope you all enjoy it!

**Standard Disclaimer:**

I **DO NOT** own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters from Final Fantasy! This will be the only place to see the disclaimer. But it is here!

**Full Summary:**

_Alternate Universe. _

They were well known as the "trio". Joined at the hip and the best of friends as kids. When one leaves, two began to drift apart. They stayed apart, started different lives, one gaining popularity in school, the other trying to follow their passion. What happens when, separated for years, they come crashing back into each other's lives. Will the trio once again be formed and again begin the journey they left unfinished, or will their current lives keep them away from each other's hearts?

_**Atomsk-sama**_


	2. Prologue

**The Journey Back to You**

Prologue

"_Hey! Wait up!" _

_A little boy called out to a girl no older than seven. Her head whipped around to stare as he came closer, her short red hair rippling in the wind. He had a smile on his face that stretched from one side to the other. He had spiky brown hair and eyes as bright and blue as the surface of the ocean that was no more than twenty feet away. A small giggle escaped from her lips as she smiled at the boy running towards her. _

"_Its not my fault you can't keep up you lazy bum!" She laughed out as she sprinted towards the water where another girl with brown hair was waiting for them._

_It was a mildly humid and sunny day out that was the perfect day to go to the beach. They arrived late in the morning and planned on staying until the sun set against a darkening sky. They were known as the "trio". Joined at the hip and the best of friends at their young age. Sure, there were other children in the area to play with, which they did of course. However, none could match the closeness of those three. _

_When the boy caught up with the two girls, they were already on a small raft with the oars up and a picnic basket in between them, waiting for him to jump on. They were going on a grand adventure that would take them around the island to the other side where there was a longer stretch of banks that extended up and down the coast. _

_Once on the island, they would have a food to eat while they hoped to watch the wild horses that roamed the island. It was a sight to behold even to the tiniest of eyes. The herds of horses were well known throughout the town they lived. It was of the utmost luck if a person was lucky enough to see the horses up close. They were easily seen from far away, but scampered off as soon as unfamiliar creatures reached the island. _

_As they reached the shore of the island a half hour later, the little boy jumped off and pulled the raft up close to the shoreline. The girls jumped off and grabbed the picnic basket to set up a little further up the beach. At the crest of a hill just a little ways from the water, they set down a blanket and laid out the contents of the picnic basket in front of them. They sampled the sandwiches brought with them in a comfortable silence that could only be shared between them. _

_After they finished their meal, they walked around a bit, making sure not to stray to far from the shoreline. They were searching for the wild horses they were always told about. It was nearing sunset and still there was no sign of the beloved horses. Just as they were ready to turn back to the shore, the little boy gasped and pointed in the direction of the setting sun. The two girls followed the trail of his finger and were shocked to see a pack of horses. They were beautiful creatures with tan and brown hair that shined in the sunlight while they grazed on the grass. _

_Little did they know, a horse stood right behind them, the most brilliant and beautiful of them all. He was a pure white steed with hair as soft as silk. The horse snorted and startled the three children into turning around to look at him. He lowered his head to their level and allowed for them each to stroke his fur. After a few minutes, the horse stood up and slowly walked into the blinding sunlight towards the rest of the herd. All three children looked at each other. A small smile graced each of their lips as they began to speak in unison._

_"We'll always be the best of friends."_

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	3. Fleeting Memories

**The Journey Back to You**

Chapter 1 – Fleeting Memories

The alarm rang with a loud, continuous beeping sound on a nightstand as blankets ruffled on a bed parallel to it. Slowly, a long and slender arm exposed itself from underneath to hit the snooze button for the second time today. The arm dropped off to the side of the bed as the inhabitant of the bed under the covers shifted some more. After a little more time, the dweller of the sheets rolled to the side and straight out of bed. On the floor, groaning at the sudden soreness to her right side, laid a striking red head of a girl at the right age of seventeen. Gradually, her eyes opened to reveal a set of blue eyes that seemed to resemble the dawning of the night sky. Using two arms, she pushed herself up into a sitting position as she tried to blink away the drowsy feeling of sleep that still invaded her being.

Trying to stifle another yawn, Kairi Ishikawa stood up and slowly made her way to the bathroom that connected with her bedroom. Taking a look in the mirror, she quickly noticed how tousled her hair had become throughout the night. With a small groan, she walked over to the shower and turned it on. As steam filled the quaint bathroom with floral patterned walls, Kairi removed her sleepwear and hopped into the shower. With a relaxing sigh, she doused her head into the hot water and thoroughly wet the rest of her body. She lathered her hair up with her coconut scented shampoo. Her mind drifted off to the dream she had the night before, as she slowly hummed a tune.

'_Why do I keep having these dreams?'_ she questioned to herself. _'Why after ten years do I keep reminding myself of what happened?'_

Ending with that thought, Kairi stepped out of the shower and proceeded to dry herself off with a towel. Once she accomplished the task, she dried her hair and bundled it in the towel. Wrapping a fresh, unused one around herself, she exited the bathroom and proceeded to her closet to put on a fresh new uniform for school. Fully dressed now, Kairi returned the towels to the bathroom and proceeded to brush her hair and apply her makeup. Kairi never really had the desire to put on makeup, but has always feared looking unattractive in front of her boyfriend.

An incident that happened at the end of the last school year left Kairi in tears when her boyfriend told her a little extra help would make her look more attractive. Since then, Kairi has never left the house without applying her cosmetics. She has even gone as far as to have an extra stash of everything in her locker at school just in case her makeup smudged.

After she finished applying her cosmetics and tidied up her hair, Kairi walked out of her room and down the stairs to the kitchen where her father was at the table reading the newspaper and her mother was at the kitchen counter placing the last piece of buttered toast onto a plate and held it out for Kairi to take.

"Thank you." Kairi answered taking the plate from her mother and placing a small kiss on her cheek. Kairi walked over to the table where her father was and sat down to eat the toast that was in front of her.

"Good morning, Kairi" her father began.

"Good morning, Dad" was Kairi's short reply taking a bite of her toast. Toast was all Kairi usually ate in the morning because she had no time for anything else on the weekdays.

"Are you ready to start your final school year?" asked her mother, still at the counter cleaning the bread crumbs away.

"I guess so. We'll see after today!" replied Kairi with a mouthful of toast.

After placing her dish in the sink, Kairi sauntered off to the main hallway to grab her school bag. She was just about ready to go when her mother called her back. In her mother's hand was a packed lunch to take to school with her. With a sheepish grin, she thanked her mother for meandered out the front door to walk to school. Before she exited the gate that stood at the front of her yard, Kairi stole a glance over at the house next to hers. There were many memories for Kairi in that house, some that she did not want to think about right now. She was going to school to continue on with her life. That was her past and she wanted to stay exactly where it was, in the past.

She turned down the street and headed in the direction towards school. She failed to notice a boy with spiky brown hair and eyes as blue as the ocean staring out the window of that particular house at her retreating form.

"Kairi" he said in a whispered tone.

A flash of a memory from long ago invaded his mind. It was of a laughing seven year old Kairi Ishikawa, when they went on a grand adventure with one other. He shook his head to clear the image away from his mind. He really did not want to revisit the past at the moment.

He turned away from the window and headed towards the front door as well. He needn't be late for school on his first day. After all, he was in his final year of school as well.

'_Well at least today I'll try not to be late.'_

He opened the front door and locked it on his way out. He walked down the stairs and made his way towards the same path that Kairi had taken, becoming lost in his thoughts and memories. This boy was Sora Hikari, and he was, at one time, Kairi's best friend.

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Destiny High was just about a fifteen minute walk from Kairi's home. She enjoyed walking in the morning. It was the small amount of time she had to herself before she had to put on a smile for all to see. It was the time for her to reflect on the events that were important to her at that time. As of that moment, she was mulling over her beloved boyfriend. She hadn't seen him much over the summer and was wondering how he would act after not seeing her for so long.

As her thoughts continued to drift, her mind also wandered towards a certain spiky haired boy. Those thoughts were cut short when she heard the honk of a car horn beside her. She glanced to her left to find a silver 2006 Ford Mustang convertible pull off to the side of the road and stop. Inside was a boy about her age with piercing aquamarine eyes and silver hair that rested on his shoulders.

"Hey beautiful, want a ride?" he asked.

Kairi couldn't help but smile at the boy's antics. He hadn't changed one bit over the summer.

"Well I don't normally get into cars with strangers. My parents told me it's dangerous." She responded.

"Aw, now that hurts, baby. Besides, do I really look like the type of guy that would hurt you?" was his retort with an added pout on his bottom lip.

"Yes" was her curt reply. There was a small smirk forming at the edges of her lips as she said this.

With a laugh he gestured her over and pushed open the door for her to get in. The boy was, in fact, Kairi's boyfriend of one year and nine months. His name was Riku Sato. She had met him in middle school and became close friends. On New Year's Day two years ago, he had surprised her at the temple by asking her out to an ice skating rink the next day. She had excitedly agreed. After that, they were almost inseparable. This was the first break that they had spent more than three days apart from one another.

She climbed into the front seat of the car and closed the door as he changed gears and sped off down the street. The wind whipped through her hair and she closed her eyes, leaving behind the fleeting thoughts of Sora, a boy she once knew. Sora, on the other hand, witnessed the entire exchange between the two just a few yards down the road next to a rather dreary looking oak tree. With a sigh, he continued on towards the high school. It would be another five minutes before he arrived there, himself. He continued down the road lost in his thoughts about what he had to do.

"I need to talk to her." He whispered aloud.

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	4. Prelude to a Scene

Mou! I feel bad that I forgot to thank the reviewers from the prologue!

Thank you's are in order for:

**-x-Kairi-x-:** I'm sorry that I got you confused! It will start to make better sense in later chapters, I swear! I'm just trying to set up a little more background first before I really start to delve more into the ongoing plot of the story as well as the character development. I hope you're still reading!

**Silver Key Studio:** Hi Haruko-san! Yeah, I wish I noticed those grammatical things before hand also. Originally I was going to just delete Skirting Around the Subject, but maybe I will take it back and start doing a major re-write of it. Glad you liked it!

Anyways, I'm sorry for the delay in updating! I had a few family emergencies to deal with through the past couple of months, so gomen nasai! I ask for your forgiveness!!

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**The Journey Back to You**

Chapter 2 – Prelude to a Scene

The remaining time it took to drive to the high school was uneventful for Kairi. Riku steered the car into the student parking lot and parked close to his "reserved" spot. No one dared to take Riku Sato's spot. The last kid that tried ended up with his tires slashed and his windshield and windows shattered. Needless to say, it became an unwritten rule. After parking the car, both Kairi and Riku exited the car and walked towards the school. Just as Kairi was about to take a step down to the stairs, Riku pulled her back and gave her a slightly forceful kiss. His only restraint was his hand on her arm, but she didn't dare try and pull away, regardless of the fact that she was extremely embarrassed at this point.

"Woohoo! Look at them go! Think it'll get any better?" cried a shrill voice. That could only be the one and only Tidus, captain of the nationals winning blitzball team at their high school and all around athletic jackass.

Kairi then tried to pull away, but stopped when Riku's grip became harder to pull away from. She stopped struggling and Riku could only smirk as he continued kissing his girlfriend. After another minute of standing there as such, Riku released his grasp from Kairi and pulled away from her.

"Yo man, what's up? asked Riku.

Tidus only smirked at that. He knew damn well that Riku intentionally did that just to make Kairi blush like crazy. He had to admit, the girl was rather attractive, but not nearly as attractive as the woman on his arm in his mind. His darling, Yuna, and he had been together for almost three years now. They became a couple on Christmas day when Tidus went to her house and started throwing rocks at her window to go to the festival with him. She had finally agreed to go with him when he refused to leave otherwise. He looked over at her and beamed at her. This year, he was going to do something very special for their anniversary. He had it all planned.

Before he wandered too far into his thoughts, Yuna tugged on his arm to have him walk down the stairs with her. After all, they needed to get to homeroom in five minutes even if it was pointless. He didn't need to worry about school anyways; he was going to become a professional blitzball player! Yet he continued to go to school because he could see Yuna everyday this way. The two couples walked down the stairs together, each girl holding on to their respective guy's arm.

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Sora had made it to school with time to spare even. He wandered into the school courtyard to notice most of his friends hanging around the water fountain in the center. Before he could reach then, he was thrown down to the ground from behind by none other than his best friend and cousin, Roxas. Sora landed on his back with a large thud and the prospect of a headache later on. He looked up to see his friend sitting cross-legged on his stomach eating an apple.

"Hey dude, haven't seen you in a few hours, huh?" began Roxas as he continued to munch on his juicy apple. They had hung out the night before playing video games at Roxas' house until about 11 o'clock.

"Yeah." was Sora's breathy reply.

"You okay edud?" questioned Roxas.

"I'd feel better if your fat ass wasn't keeping my lungs from breathing oxygen in." With that, Sora proceeded to shove Roxas off of him and take in a deep breath. "Ahhh! How I've missed you sweet air!" he exclaimed.

"I'm not that fat. You weigh more than me edud." said Roxas, all the while poking Sora in the stomach. Now many people have questioning glances whenever they hear Roxas say edud. Sora has been the only one privy to such knowledge since he was there when Roxas seemed to have a malfunction in his motor skills and pronounced the word backwards in front of the girl Roxas has had a crush on since middle school. Since then, it has been a private joke between the two of them.

"That's only because you're short." Sora retorted with a smirk. He knew how much Roxas hated being made fun of for his lack of height. He saw Roxas cringed and knew he was about to blow if Sora pursued any further. The only response that he received from Roxas was a mumbled "by a damn inch."

They walked over to the rest of the group and proceeded to greet the group. The group consisted of Hayner, Pence, Olette, Lulu, Rikku, Leon, Yuffie, Zidane and, of course, Roxas and Sora himself. Before they could get into any chat about what they have been doing the bell sounded signaling everyone that they had to go to their homerooms. Sora and Roxas bid everyone their farewells and ran to their homerooms since they had the same one this year. Before Sora turned into the building, Sora glanced around and met a pair of sparkling blue eyes staring at him. It was none other than Kairi Ishikawa, Sora's neighbor. They locked eyes for another minute before Sora was hit in the back of the head with Roxas' messenger bag. Snapping out of his revere, Sora turned and went into the building.

Kairi turned away from where she was staring at, hoping Riku hadn't noticed. It was also a well known fact in Destiny High that Sora and Riku were enemies due to the classic clique's factor. Riku was in the "popular" crowd and Sora was considered a "punk". Unbeknownst, for her, Riku had seen Kairi and Sora exchange glances. His eyes narrowed, but he kept quiet. He was vaguely aware of the two's history together. He would do anything in his power to keep those two apart if only for the fact that he knew something Kairi was not aware of.

Sora was in love with Kairi. It was the classic cliché of a punk kid falling in love with a popular girl. He brushed these annoying thoughts away placed his arm around his girl and walked her to her homeroom before continuing to his own.

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Please Review!

Authoress: Mou! Please bear with me, I know that this seems like a lot of back story before anything really good happens, but you'll get more of it in the next chapter, I promise! That and sorry if there are any spelling/grammar mistakes!

:: crickets chirping ::

Authoress: Damn…


	5. What A Scene!

Mou! I was hoping I could get this out before Lent started but I couldn't! That's part of the reason for the lack of updating. So I decided I could be strong and give up reading Fanfiction and Manga for Lent, since that's "all I ever do" as some people say.

Anyways! Thanks for the **reviews** in the last chapter! I could really use the feedback though. I know that this has been hit a number of times. Please! It helps if I know you cool people are reading it!

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**The Journey Back to You**

Chapter 2 – What a Scene

Classes were not of the utmost interest to most people and at this point, Kairi especially. She couldn't wait for the lunch bell to ring. Math was not her most favorite subject, even though she did fairly well in it. She glanced over to the desk placed to her right and found her best friend, Namine, with her head in her hand nodding off a bit as the teacher droned on about trigonometry. While the teacher had her back turned, Kairi leaned over and shoved the arm that was holding up Namine's head. With a slight start, Namine glanced over and glared at the girl. Not more than a second later, the bell signaling the end of class and beginning of lunch had sounded.

The two packed up their bags and walked out into the hallway where drones of students were overcrowding the hallways on their way to lunch. Kairi and Namine each stopped at their lockers and exchanged books for after lunch. As Kairi was ready to begin the trek to lunch, hands were placed over her eyes. With a small sigh, Kairi turned around and smiled up at Riku. He stood there with a wide grin on his face, ready to escort _his_ girl to the cafeteria.

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Roxas and Sora walked out of their Calculus class, sighing loudly. This year was going to be a long one for them. Both Roxas and Sora managed to over excel in a placement test they took at the beginning of their high school years, placing them in advanced classes all throughout high school. It never got easier either. This year, they were taking classes to receive college credits already. Hey, who said punks couldn't be smart?

On their way to their lockers, Roxas looked at Sora. He had noticed about two weeks ago that his beloved cousin had been distracted over something. He had refrained from asking so far, but he was just getting even more worried.

"Something on your mind?" began Roxas.

"Hmm…?" was Sora's response.

"You've just seemed distracted lately, that's all."

"I guess I have been mulling over something." They concluded the conversation for now since they arrived at their respective lockers. Roxas had finished putting his last book away when Sora spoke up again. "She's coming for a visit and she wants all of us together." Roxas stopped what he was doing and looked at his cousin. You'd swear the two were twin brothers by the way they could read each other's minds.

"When is she supposed to be here?" asked Roxas.

"She'll be getting in this Friday after school. I was going to go to the docks to greet her as soon as school got out. I still haven't talked to Kairi yet either. She's tried getting in touch with her, but apparently Kairi just hasn't been available." He said the last part with finger quotations just to drive the point home. Roxas let out a snort and closed his locker.

"You mean she's been busy with her little cohorts?"

"Pretty much. I wouldn't even bother really, except that she asked me to talk to Kairi. She seems to think that we're still really good friends. I haven't really corrected her though. I was going to try and talk to her at lunch today. Every time I try and go to her house, I just lose my nerve. It just seems so foreign now, ya know?"

Roxas nodded and walked along side Sora as they made their way to the courtyard since they both brought lunches. They sat by the fountain and started eating, while waiting for the rest of their friends to come from their lockers. Not more than five minutes later, the rest of their friends show up; they being Pence, Hayner, Olette, Lulu, Rikku, Leon, Paine, and Yuffie. They formed a small circle around the fountain and proceeded to start talking about what they thought of all of their classes so far. Sora and Roxas were teased a bit for being "smarties" and taking all advanced classes while the rest of them were in regular "normie" classes.

After a good ten minutes of eating and discussion. Sora sent Roxas a wearied look. Roxas' response was to stand up.

"I'll go with you. It might make this a little easier." With that, Sora stood up and turned towards where he knew Kairi would be sitting. There was a wall section by the entrance to the school from the courtyard that had picnic tables. That was considered the "popular" table. Their friends looked at their departure questioningly and Roxas just waved them off, saying there was something they needed to do. Grabbing their bags, they headed towards that section; Sora's mind was already a mess because he already knew what kind of confrontation was waiting for him. He was just glad that Roxas agreed to come with him, making it only slightly easier.

Slowly, they meandered towards the table, the students at the table taking no notice of them until they were about ten feet away. In the center of the table was, of course, Kairi with Riku to her left and Namine to her right. The rest of the group crowding around the table were Tidus, Yuna, Cloud, Tifa, Selphie, Vincent and Seifer. Riku and Namine were the first to take notice of them. Namine narrowed her eyes and Riku replaced the smirk on his face with that of a scowl. Kairi was laughing until she noticed the change in atmosphere. Blinking up, she finally took notice of Sora and Roxas, her eyes widening slightly at seeing them before her.

Sora closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he began to speak. "Kairi, can I have a word in private?" Before the words could even register in her mind, Riku was already speaking up for her. "Why in the world would she want to go any where with you let alone speak to you, freak?" At this point, Namine chimed in as well, disdain clear in her voice. "Yeah, I mean seriously. Speaking with you losers might hurt her reputation. Get out of here before you do any unspeakable damage."

Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Sora looked at both Riku and Namine, respectively. "As much as this would be such a lovely conversation to have with the both of you, I'm not talking to you. Why don't you ever let Kairi answer for herself? I came here to speak with her." Kairi could hear a low growl coming from Riku as he began to stand from his position next to her. Worried that her boyfriend's temper would get the better of her, Kairi jumped to her feet as well and place a hand on his shoulder. Looking into his eyes, she silently pleaded with him to stay calm. Slowly, Riku sat back down in his seat, irritation clearly etched into his features. Kairi turned her attention to Sora not looking him directly in the eye.

"I'm not sure that would be the best idea. Please leave." With that she sat down and continued to eat as if nothing happened. The crowd at the table mimicked Kairi's actions and continued to eat and talk as if nothing had happened. Roxas, at this point, was fuming at how they were being treated, but before he could open his mouth and retort to their actions, he was stopped by a hand from his cousin. Sora shook his head and walked off towards the entrance to the building. Class was going to start soon anyways. Roxas shook his head and followed his cousin into the school.

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The end of the school day finally came for Kairi, who breathed a sigh of relief as she walked out of her science class, Namine following closely behind her. They both made their way to their lockers wordlessly and changed their books for what they would need to take home. With a wave of her hand, Kairi bid goodbye to Namine and walked to the front entrance of the school. Instead of getting a ride home with Riku, which was her normal routine, she began making her way home on foot. Today, Riku had a meeting with the soccer team and it would take a few hours. Why they had to have a meeting right as they came back to school was beyond her.

She allowed herself to become lost in her thoughts while on the way home. After seeing Riku today, she didn't feel as excited or happy as she used to be. Sure, she was happy to see him after the time they spent apart, but things just didn't feel the same between them anymore. Still lost in her thoughts and her eyes to the ground, she didn't notice the shadow of a figure standing next to the fence outside of her house, someone very familiar to her, yet so foreign now.

It wasn't until she was about three feet away from her gate that she noticed Sora standing outside of her house, leaning against the fence with a Popsicle stick dangling from his mouth. He was in a profile view, yet he never took his eyes off of her. She averted her gaze and lifted her hand to open the gate.

"Just going to ignore me, huh?" said Sora.

"I just don't think it would be a good idea if we were seen talking together, that's all." was the only reply Kairi came up with, all the while trying to open her gate. She managed to unlatch the lock, but Sora's calloused hand on top of hers prevented her from moving any further.

"No, you just don't think anymore, period. Ever since you started hanging around with your little group, I don't think I've seen you make a decision by yourself." He knew he was being harsh on her, but a small part of him hoped that this would make the fiery red head that he remembered come out. He let his hand drop.

Kairi finally turned her eyes back on Sora with a questioning look in her eyes. "You've been watching me?" she asked quietly. There was a glint in her eyes that caused Sora to pause before speaking again. "Not as in an enemy or as a friend since we are neither." There was a small, ghost of a smile that graced his face as he said, "but I haven't forgotten you, either. I do notice you in the hallway or in class." With a shake of his head, Sora cleared his mind and returned to accomplish what he set out to do today.

"Speaking of forgotten, I still haven't talked to you about what I wanted to earlier." Kairi turned her head away and started for her house again. "I still don't think it's a good idea for us to be talking." Sora put his hand on her shoulder to hold her off for another moment.

"The only thing I wanted to do was give you this message, since you haven't been available. She's coming for a visit and she'll be here Friday." Kairi's head spun at a velocity not associated with humans. With her eyes wide, all she could do was stutter.

Sora gave her one last look, then turned around and headed into his own house, leaving a flustered Kairi where she stood.

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	6. We Meet Again

Hello! This is the first time in a while that I've been able to update _relatively_ fast in a long time! I would like to say thanks to Silver Key Studio for the review! Gracias!

And although, I'm super happy that there have been at least 40 people who have read chapter two, please review! I need help in a direction to go in. I have an outline for this story, but I won't know if you guys like it if you don't tell me! So please let me know!

Anyways, on with the story!

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**The Journey Back to You**

Chapter 3 – We Meet Again

She couldn't think straight. She kept on daydreaming through all her classes, reliving the moment she had with Sora.

_"She's coming for a visit and she'll be here Friday." _

Sora's words weighed heavily on her mind. What was she supposed to do? She didn't know how everything fell apart with the "trio" after she left? What could she say? That not only were they not as close as they used to be, but they were downright enemies on some scale. They weren't even supposed to go near each other according to the unspoken rules of cliques. Kairi let out a long sigh as she tried to pay attention in math.

Namine chanced a glance at Kairi. The girl had been acting strange for a few days now and wasn't sure how to take it. Obviously something was troubling the girl. She bit her lip, worry clearly spread across her face. Without notice from the teacher, Namine tapped Kairi on the shoulder. Blue eyes sought out the other pair as the redhead looked up with a questioning look.

"Is everything all right?" Namine inquired.

With a small smile on her face Kairi shook her head slightly, assuring her friend that everything was, in fact, peachy keen. Kairi averted her gaze to the front of the room where her teacher was, trying once again to concentrate. It only brought a frown to Namine's delicate features.

"_She must know."_ was her last thought before she returned her attention back to the front of the room, awaiting the bell signal with a frown still on her face.

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Lunch had finally arrived for the large hoard of students. Everyone scrambled from their lockers and proceeded to eat lunch at the respective places. Sora and Roxas made it out to the fountain to meet with the gang. Unsurprisingly, they were the first ones there. The boys sat down and proceeded to open their lunches as they waited for everyone else. Roxas took note that his cousin kept fidgeting every so often as he ate his sandwich. Finishing the bite taken, Roxas began his conversation.

"So, today's the day?" he began.

Sora paused in his consummation of food to look at his cousin. Swallowing, he nodded slowly. "I'm going to meet her down at the docks. She told me last night that her boat is coming in around four o'clock."

Roxas nodded in reply while staring across the courtyard, taking note of the "popular" table. "And Kairi?" he continued on. Sora shrugged his shoulders at that.

"I did tell her the same day I tried talking to her at lunch. She was shocked when I told her, but I didn't wait around to hear an answer. It was already too much as it was. I did what I was asked." Sora looked down at his hands at that point. Roxas turned in Sora's direction, eyeing his cousin's slumped figure.

"You haven't changed at all, have you?" chuckled Roxas. _"You still have feelings for her."_ he continued in his mind. Sora gave him a questioning look, but before he could inquire further, the rest of their gang showed up, Hayner in the lead with Rikku not far behind.

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It was two o'clock in the afternoon as the boat reached the docks, carrying passengers from the main land to the island. After most of the passengers flooded onto the dock, out stepped a young woman with sea foam colored eyes and long, russet colored hair tied back into a braid. A small smile graced her lips as she took a look around the area she had departed from so long ago. With a breath of fresh air, she proceeded to make her way away from the dock and further into town.

"It's great to be back." Aerith said to herself walking further down the sidewalk and onto her ultimate destination: Destiny High.

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Three o'clock couldn't get there fast enough for Sora. The anticipation of picking up Aerith at the docks was weighing down on him. Certainly ten years of being apart would make anyone nervous, right? He had five minutes left until the end of day bell rang. Roxas kept glancing over at him with curious eyes. The bell rang and Sora gave his cousin a big grin before standing up to bolt out of the classroom.

"See you later, cuz!" Sora said and added a small wave behind him. Students were piling out of the classrooms left and right. Sora did his best to dodge everyone, only running into only a couple of people along the way. He made it to his locker and started shoving his unnecessary books into his locker.

"_If I leave now, I'll be able to make it to the docks with 15 minutes to spare!"_ were his jumbled thoughts. He made a dash to the front doors of the school and was outside in mere seconds, creating a loud boom as he slammed to doors open. To his left, he failed to noticed Kairi, Riku, and Namine already outside on the stairs waiting for the rest of the gang. Sora only made it halfway to the entrance of the school before he stopped dead in his tracks, dropping his messenger bag in the process. At the entrance of the school stood a lone figure with long, russet colored hair tied into a braid, waiting for Sora just inside the entrance. A small smile graced her features.

Slowly, Aerith started making her way towards Sora. Her smile getting wider with every step she took. Sora finally snapped out of his revere and broke out into a run towards her. With a shout of her name, Sora ceases to stop when he reaches her. Instead, he scoops her up in his arms, twirling her around a number of times in a hug. Aerith's constant laughter echoed all around the school grounds as various students stopped to watch the display of affection. Some students had small smiles on their faces, while others frowned at the open display.

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One person stood stone still compared to the rest of the population. Kairi just remained where she was next to her best friend and boyfriend, speechless with night blue eyes wide. Riku and Namine hardly took notice of their shocked friend. Instead, they immediately set frowns upon their features and started slandering the girl that was unknown to them because of who she was with. What remarks they had to say barely registered in Kairi's mind. Instead, it was racing miles a minute trying to comprehend who she saw and front of her and what to do.

She only came back to her sense when others started to crowd around the two, mainly Sora's companions, and animatedly greeting the new girl that Sora had been hugging. Faint words started to register in her mind of the loud conversation, such as "beautiful," "polite," and, what stuck most, "Sora's girlfriend." Those last few words sent a strange, yet confusing, sensation through Kairi, mostly ending with her heart feeling constricted and painful. Before she knew what she was doing, she was off running towards the large group of people, and right past them towards the school gate. She didn't dare glance at the group as she rushed past, her destination being the only safe haven she could think of at the time. Home.

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All but one person failed to notice the quick escape made by the striking young redhead. Riku and Namine were talking quietly to one another and were late to realize that Kairi had left five minutes before. No one in the group animatedly surrounding Aerith noticed. However, Sora pointedly watched as Kairi ran out of the school as fast as her legs would carry her. He also noticed how her face seemed crestfallen and her eyes filled with sadness. Sora ignored what was going on around him until she was out of his eyesight.

_"It's not like I should be the one to worry about her anyways."_ He spared a quick glance toward Riku's direction and took note of how he was engrossed in a conversation with Namine and had not seen his girlfriend leave in a rush. Shaking his head, Sora turned back to his friends with a grin on his face, trying to answer the millions of questions being thrown at him.

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Kairi ran until she was safely inside her house, running up the stairs and slamming her bedroom door shut behind her. Slowly, she started sliding down to the floor with her back pressed against it. Tears pricked at her eyes, yet she would not cry. There was a strange, but familiar, sensation she felt at seeing Aerith again with Sora by her side. She had yet to decipher what it was, but she knew that if she continued exploring that feeling, it would keep drawing her closer to Aeirth, and ultimately Sora. That was what she was most afraid of.

In her conscious mind, she thought that if she brought herself closer to them, then she would lose all of the friends she has now, and most importantly, her boyfriend thus leaving her alone in the end. Unconsciously, she felt that there was a more powerful, underlying meaning to her fears.

After a good ten minutes of just sitting on her floor staring at nothing in particular, Kairi stood up and proceeded to change out of her school uniform and place a tank top and shorts on. After all, school may have started, but the weather preferred to argue that point. She then emptied her school bag out and took the initiative to start her weekend homework in the hopes that any of her previous thoughts would leave her for the time being. Luck was on her side…

For about an hour anyways.

When she had just about finished her dreaded math and science homework, her cell phone rang. Thinking that it was a good time to take a break, Kairi answered after two short rings.

"Hello?"

"What the hell happened to you after school today?! We turned around and you disappeared on us!" came a very loud and patronizing Namine. Kairi had to pull the phone away from her ear in order to salvage what was left of her hearing. When she deemed it safe, Kairi replaced the phone next to her ear and tried to think of how to respond.

"Hey, Nami, sorry about that, I remembered that I had something important to do at home so I needed to get back as soon as I could." Kairi responded hoping her voice sounded calm and even. She was never one to respond to yelling very well.

"Hmph… well you should have said something then, instead of taking off. Oh well, I accept your apology." came Namine's retort. Kairi remembered not offering an apology, but decided to let it slide. They were friends after all. "So are we going to do anything this weekend?" Kairi snapped back to the conversation at hand. "Yeah, sure! You want to go to the mall tomorrow afternoon?"

"Sure. Sounds good!" Call me tomorrow morning with the details. Oh! Don't forget to invite Riku too! Bye!" With that, Namine hung up before Kairi could respond. Kairi just looked at her cell phone with a raised eyebrow. Shaking her head, she began to dial Riku's number. One ring into the phone call and the door bell sounded. Kairi made her way downstairs and to the door since she knew her parents wouldn't be home until later. Two rings and she was at the bottom of the stairs. The doorbell sounded simultaneously with the third ring. Grasping at the handle of the door, Kairi pulled it open. In the middle of the fourth ring, Riku answered with a gruff hello.

"I-I'm going to have to c-call you back." stuttered Kairi. She hung up before he even had a chance to reply. Standing before her was none other than Aerith with a small smile on her face and her sea foam colored eyes sparkling.

"It's great to see you again, Kairi!" A little too stunned for words, Kairi simply nodded her head.

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Please Review!


	7. We're Not Really Friends

Konnichiwa! Sorry for the lack of updates. I just recently started a new story entitled _Run for the Hills_ and its centered around Axel and Roxas. I started writing that in order to get back into this story. I have this planned out, but this transition has been a little hard to write. So, I hope you all like it!

Special thanks are in order to _Namilaa_, _Miss Pirate of the Caribbean _and _EliasDaemonwing _for reviewing! I'm glad that you guys like what I have so far!

I was amazed to see that there is a total of 789 hits to this story. I'm glad that people are interested! If you have any questions about whats going on, or if I don't make things clear, please tell me! I want to make this a great story for you all to enjoy!

Without further ado!

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**The Journey Back to You**

Chapter 05 – We're Not Really Friends

Dew drops kissed the grass goodbye before the sun rose completely, showing a peaceful Saturday morning scene with little to no persons up and about except for those who were early risers. Kairi was not one of those persons, and yet, she was up at the crack of dawn packing a duffel bag with clothes and different things she would need to entertain herself for her overnight trip to the small island she used to visit as a child. She would be meeting Aerith and Sora down at the docks at exactly seven in the morning. It was already six-thirty and she was not done. She still needed to shower and apply her makeup for the day.

Aerith had stopped by with Sora yesterday to ask if she was still coming with them this weekend to the islands for old times sake. The scene still played freshly in her mind from yesterday afternoon.

_After a her absent-minded nod, she noticed Sora leaning on the door frame behind Aerith, arms across his chest. His expression held little interest to be there as he looked down to the ground. At least, that was Kairi's impression. Soon Aerith's melodic voice interrupted her thoughts, redirecting her attention back to the light haired brunette._

_"So I was wondering if you were coming with us this weekend? We're going to the island we used to visit when we were kids. It'll be just like we used to!" Aerith began, a giddy smile adorning her face._

_It had taken a few seconds for the information to process through to Kairi's brain. Eyes widening slightly, she took a quick look over to Sora who only looked at her and rolled his eyes as a response. Suddenly, it clicked that telling her that Aerith was coming wasn't the only thing that Sora was trying to tell her that day. She stole a quick glance at Aerith before turning her eyes towards the floor. A faint blush was creeping its way onto her face, embarrassed by her own foolishness and unwillingness to listen to others. Surely she had been taught better? With a sigh, she looked up at Aerith and nodded, a small smile showing._

_"I'll have to double check with my parents when they get home, but I'd love to! I mean, we haven't seen each other in almost ten years!" Kairi replied, a grin now breaking out into her features. Surprisingly enough, it was not a forced smile, instead it responded from a dormant feeling that was starting to surface in her heart. Kairi noticed something flicker in Aerith's eyes, almost as if she was surprised, but that faded before it could be determined. If she had bothered to look at Sora, she would have seen the face of complete shock that was on his face. He for one did not think she would so readily agree. Shaking his head slightly, he wiped the look off of his face and replaced it with his usual indifference._

_Aerith was positively beaming at the thought that she would be spending time with both of her best friends again. "Great! So meet us at the docks at seven tomorrow morning! We'll take one of the boats from there! Well, we should get going now, Sora promised that he would walk with me around town to see what's changed and what's still the same. See you tomorrow!" _

_"Great! See you then!" replied Kairi. Aerith turned and started walking down the path that lead back to the street. Before she closed the door, Kairi caught Sora's eye, as he still had yet to move from his spot. They seemed to be having a staring contest if anyone were to see. Sora tore his ocean blue orbs away from Kairi's and turned, but not before whispering a promise of what would come from this weekend._

_"This should be entertaining." With that, he began his trudged down the path to meet Aerith at the gates._

_"Wait." Sora froze on the spot, his heart beating in his ears. It wasn't her words, but her fingers dancing on his wrist that caused the reaction. He didn't make a move to pull away, instead inclining his head in her direction, his eyes meeting hers indicating that she had his attention. Kairi felt a spark go through her when she saw his eyes. A blush was starting to make its way to her cheeks, but she struggled to continue on._

_"Can we talk later tonight? Out back?" Sora knew what she wanted to talk to about. He gave her a slight nod before turning around and pulling out of her grasp, making his way to Aerith once again. Kairi closed the door and slid down the frame, letting out the breath she had been holding. A small smile graced her lips, only to be cut short by the ringing of her cell phone._

Retreating from her thoughts, Kairi looked down to notice that she was indeed all packed for the trip. Musing that she must have finished unconsciously, she padded over to her bathroom to turn on the shower. With a quick shampoo and conditioning, she was lathering her skin in no time to complete her shower in a record of ten minutes, a personal best for her.

Quickly drying and running a brush through her hair, she ambled back to her room to dawn the outfit she would be wearing for the day. It was a strapped pink and white dress, adorned with zippers in some areas as well as a pair of pink shoes to complete her outfit. It was simple and one of her favorite dresses, which she rarely ever wore. Naminé had been to her house one time and had seen the dress hanging in her closet. After the shock of horror wore of that Kairi owned something as "punky" as that, Kairi was vehemently told to get rid of the eye sore. She couldn't bear to throw it away so she hid it in the back of her closet and remembered not to wear it to school where her friends would see her.

Kairi glanced at her clock on her nightstand, jaw dropping. It was already ten of seven and she still had yet to leave the house. She still hadn't put on any makeup, but she was also afraid of being late. If there was one thing Kairi Ishikawa hated was not being punctual. Deciding to throw caution to the wind, she made the executive decision to forgo the makeup for today. With a quick grab for her duffel bag, Kairi was down the stairs and out the door in under a minute.

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Sora was down at the docks with Aerith and it was exactly 6:58 AM. With a groggy groan, Sora began loading the small dingy that they would use to get over to the island, already anticipating that he would be the one rowing the whole way. As he stifled another yawn, his bleary eyes caught a blur of pink running to their direction.

_'Must be Kairi. At least she made it on time.'_ he thought drearily. It wasn't that he felt his weekend was doomed now with the addition of Kairi on their little trip, moreover he thought it would go very well only to have Monday come and have things be back to the way it was. They hadn't really had a conversation with one another in almost six years, when they started middle school, until last night in their backyards. The conversation wasn't unpleasant, but Sora had wished that such a conversation was not necessary. All in all, he genuinely missed having Kairi to talk to, but would never admit it out loud. His mind began to wander to the previous night's conversation as he loaded the dingy.

_When Sora came home after dropping off Aerith at the hotel she was staying at, he grabbed his acoustic guitar and meandered out into his backyard, plopping into the hammock that was tied between two trees. He closed his eyes and strummed on his guitar the tune that had popped into his head. It was a slow tempo and sounded great on his guitar. Soon enough, he was humming along to the sounds that filled his ears. _

_He had yet to figure out he had an audience with her head resting in her arms on the fence. She had retreated to her yard after she finished speaking with her parents about her outing for the next couple of days. She found that her parents were ecstatic to find that Aerith had come for a visit and encouraged her to go out and do as she pleased. Her eyes started to close as she listened to the melodic humming combined with the guitar, giving her a peaceful feeling. A few minutes later, the sounds of the guitar stopped abruptly followed by a loud thump. She snapped her eyes opened to see a disheveled Sora dropped ceremoniously to the ground as the hammock flipped him over with his sudden jerky movement. Kairi couldn't help but chuckle at the sight before her. She remembered Sora had a habit of being very clumsy when they were younger._

_Sora stood up sending a mock glare her way which died quickly after hearing her giggle. Unconsciously, he grinned at her. After propping his guitar at the base of the tree, he walked over to the fence and leaned on it next to where she was._

_"So what did you wish to discuss with me?" Sora began, deciding to get it done and over with. The smile on Kairi's face immediately vanished as she looked out across to Sora's yard, struggling with the words she was trying to say. A few minutes went by before she began to speak._

_"Look, I know we haven't talked in a while." That statement caused Sora to snort back a sarcastic laugh. Kairi glared at him before continuing. "We haven't talked in a while, but we're going to be spending the weekend together with Aerith. I don't know what you've told Aerith, but it seems as though she thinks we're still really close friends."_

_Before she said anymore, Sora interjected. "I haven't really said anything to her to be quite honest. I wasn't exactly sure how to tell her that we were no longer on speaking terms with each other. Don't get me wrong though, its not like I haven't thought about it. I honestly didn't expect you to say yes to this little outing we had planned."_

_"Well its not like there was really much of a choice." Sora rolled his eyes at the comment. "I mean, its either that or let her think that everything has fallen apart. I don't know, but for some reason, I can't bear the thought of Aerith being sad that we're no longer friends. We both know that's how she would react." Sora had to admit that he did agree with Kairi on that. There was just something that Aerith possessed where you couldn't stand seeing her sad. It was the same when they were kids. _

_"All right, then what do you propose we do about our little situation?" Sora continued on. Kairi shrugged her shoulders before answering._

_"We go there as though we're still best friends. I mean it can't be that hard?"_

_Sora felt a small swell of anger form inside of him, along with a hint of sadness. "A lot of things have changed, not just for you, but for me as well." A look of comprehension dawned on Kairi's face before she muffled a quick apology. Soon an awkward silence engulfed the two teens as they leaned against the fence separating their houses. Deciding that this would get them nowhere, Kairi started to come up with a plan._

_"Okay, so how about this. We spend the time now to get to know each other better before we go tomorrow." Sora sent her an odd look before nodding his head in agreement. They soon began talking about school and classes to be on safer subjects at first, but then delved more into a casual conversation as though they were two friends who hadn't seen each other in a long while and were catching up on the happenings in their lives. They ended up talking into the wee hour of one in the morning before they decided to call it a night since they both were getting up early tomorrow._

Sora chuckled a bit at the fact that they held a good conversation for hours on end like good friends would. _'But its all just for Aerith. This doesn't mean that we're really friends again. Besides this will probably be the only time we actually spend together.'_ Sora chided to himself. It seemed Kairi finally made it to the docks since Aerith was talking with her animatedly. He glanced over to see a stunning Kairi before him. She was walking with Aerith, her duffel bag in hand and a genuinely soft smile gracing her features. To him, she was radiant the way she was with the dress she wore and no cosmetics on her face.

She glanced towards the boat and her eyes landed on Sora while he just stared at her. Quickly shaking his head and looking away, a faint blush appeared on his features. He turned back to Kairi and gave her a grin to indicate his welcome for her. In turn she smiled back brightly while he extended his hand to take her duffel bag from her. In a matter of minutes, everyone was set and ready to go to the island for overnight. With everyone in place in the dingy, Sora untied their boat and pushed away from the dock clambering on at the last minute. The oars were in place and Sora, as he had expected, was the one rowing them to the island about a mile away.

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